It is only a law of nature that even a red rose gradually turns brown before eventually dropping dead black.
Naturally, the color of our period blood also evolves accordingly from bright red to sticky black. Bright red blood indicates fresh blood and steady in which you might see a lot on your first day of period. Eventually, the color will darken toward the end of your period. After two or three days, the blood that takes longer to leave the uterus and has had time to oxidize, will first turn brown or dark red and eventually become black.
Once you are 20 or older, you might notice that there is brown or black blood at the beginning of your period even before the bright red blood. It is usually just old blood that has not had a chance to leave your body since your previous cycle. Sometimes, you might even experience spotting mid-cycle. While it may not be a health problem now, it can indicate a flow problem or a blockage which causes your body to retain the blood. As it takes longer to leave the body, it will turn black and sticky, and if you are lucky, it will pass naturally too.
Retained blood can become a health problem in the near future. Disrupted flow can be caused by a variety of factors, including consuming alcohol during periods, severe stress, anxiety, nerves, lack of sleep, fatigue, or simply you do not take good care of yourself during your menstruation. Sometimes, it can also be brought by external environments like weather change in which requires adaptation, such as outfit adjustment, too many physical activities that cause our brain and body to shut down, using unnecessary products including feminine wash, reaction to the sanitary pad, or not regularly changing them, or simply not having enough sleep so that your body can recharge.
You can start by changing some habits, and you will notice the difference instantly in your next cycle. We highly recommend you to use a cloth pad at night if you are busy during the day or when you are home. You can even sleep in loose gowns or covered with a blanket. The stains do not matter as long as you are comfortable. Feeling shameful can really cost us our physical and mental health.
We have cloth pad up to size XXL, which is perfect for nighttime. I would use it at night with an additional blanket below in case I do not get up to change during the night. We can only use the sanitary pad for up to 4 hours at a time. If we do not change, it is not good for our skin or cervical health. Vagina and cervix are situated very close to one another, and having unnecessary chemicals pressed close to our fragile skin is not the wisest option, not to mention having to spend a whole night like that. If you notice any gray in your period blood, you should go for a checkup soon. We will also talk about discharge in our next article. When you are having your period, you are still releasing discharge and everything gets mixed together. Just like period blood, discharge is an update about our reproductive health.